


That's The Way The Cookie Crumbles

by Lothiriel84



Series: Another Cup Of Coffee [9]
Category: MarsCorp (Podcast)
Genre: Accidents, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 16:45:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11695776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lothiriel84/pseuds/Lothiriel84
Summary: I'm a beggarAnd I'm sitting on a beach of gold





	That's The Way The Cookie Crumbles

It was nobody’s fault, really. David could remember a time when accidents were so commonplace people would start talking if an entire week went by without at least a couple of employees being horribly maimed or killed across the entire base. Things had considerably improved ever since Miss Hob had taken up her current position as the Base Manager, but that didn’t change the fact that most of the equipment was at least a few decades old, and thus prone to ruptures and technical faults.

To be fair, the ice cream stand hadn’t been there prior to David’s incarceration, but then again, the Resources Department had been holding back on vital replacement parts for nearly as long as he could remember; as a result, a significant number of the facilities were structurally unsound, and bound to collapse sooner or later.

Thank Shareholders Dave was nothing like the old Head of Resources, he thought briefly, just as he was rapidly drifting into unconsciousness. He heard someone screaming in the distance, and then nothing.

 

* * *

 

“David? David, can you hear me?”

That was – Jim’s voice, right? He couldn’t be sure. His mind conjured up the memory of a little girl in pigtails, smiling back at him as she licked her chocolate chip ice cream.

He hoped she was all right. He was so tired, he might as well have a little nap.

 

* * *

 

“What do you mean, I’m not allowed to see him? I’m his – partner, yes, that’s exactly what I am. Either you let me in right now, or you won’t get your hands on any of your precious medical supplies for the rest of forever.”

“Dave, calm down. Jo is doing her best, we have to let her do her job.”

“That’s easy for you to say, you’re not – he’s not – Shareholders, I hate this stupid place.”

Everything hurt, and he couldn’t move, but he wished he could let Dave know he was fine. Well, mostly fine. He supposed he was going to trust Miss Hob on that one; she was good at people – well, better than he could ever be, at any rate.

 

* * *

 

“Dad, come here! Look, he’s waking up.”

He blinked repeatedly, his eyes struggling to focus on the smiling face leaning right over him. He felt a little as if he’d been run over by one of the old floor polishers, but all in all, it didn’t hurt as much as when he’d been kicked unconscious by a mob of outraged Martians right after The Incident.

“David, my friend! It’s so good to see you awake again. My wife wanted to come down and personally thank you for saving our daughter, but she’s been called back in due to an emergency in sector fifteen. Nothing to worry about, though – how are you feeling?”

“Dad, please, can’t you see that he’s tired?” the little girl scolded him, though she sounded just as cheerful as her father. “Let him rest.”

He tried for a smile, but all he could do was close his eyes, and let the bleeping sound of the medical equipment lull him back to sleep.

 

* * *

 

“I told you, I’m fine,” he tried to protest, just as he was forced to lean further on Dave for support.

“Yeah, sure. As fine as someone who had an entire ice cream stand collapse on him not a week ago. Easy now, we’re nearly there.”

He let Dave guide him to the settee, sat down as slowly and carefully as he could manage. All in all it wasn’t too bad; Jo said that the head trauma he had sustained wouldn’t cause any permanent damage, and as for the rest of his injuries, it was nothing that couldn’t be cured by time, and the rather excellent drugs he’d been prescribed.

“Do you want me to make you some tea? I even have ginger biscuits – they’re your favourites, right?”

“You – made biscuits?” he frowned, confused, as he was presented with a tray of freshly baked goods. They smelt delicious, and he couldn’t help but reach for one.

“Well, yes, and no. All right, I had to bribe Hayley to make them for me. But she was quite happy with the deal she got, believe me.”

David smirked, and bit into the biscuit. “They taste delicious, too,” he murmured, his smile quickly dropping as he finally noticed just how unhappy Dave looked. He took as deep a breath as he dared with his broken ribs, and forced himself to speak. “Look, I’m – sorry, all right?”

“What on Mars do you think you should be sorry for?” Dave quickly interrupted him, only to avert his gaze a moment later. He put down the tray and sat down beside him, mindful of his injuries.

“You know, for a moment there I thought – I really thought I’d lost you, and I – I didn’t like it. Not one bit.”

“I’ll just try harder not to die, then,” he attempted to laugh it off, but to no avail. Dave just kept staring at him for a long moment, then reached for his hand, holding it between his own.

“When Jo told me she couldn’t let me in to see you, because I wasn’t family – Shareholders, you simply have no idea how much I hated it.”

“Oh. I think that’s the standard procedure, right? Nothing to worry about.”

“No, you don’t understand. It’s not just that she wouldn’t let me see you, it’s – I’d never realised it before, but I do now. I want us to be a family, David,” he glanced up, nervously. “If you want that, too.”

David swallowed, his mind reeling in sheer amazement. Had Dave just – asked him? Or was the brain damage far more serious than Jo had diagnosed him with?

“Or, we could just carry on as we are,” Dave added at length, suddenly letting go of his hand. “That’d be – pretty good, I guess.”

“Wait, I – I want that, yes. Please.”

Dave smiled, touched his palm to his cheek. “May I?”

He nodded, and leaned forward to meet him in the middle.


End file.
